THAI BUTTERNUT SQUASH CURRY RECIPE

15 minutes to prepare 25 minutes to cook

• tbsp red curry paste
• 2tbsp coconut cream
• 400ml (13fl oz) skimmed milk
• 3 spring onions, cut into short lengths
• 500g (1lb) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 12 button mushrooms, halved
• 250g (8oz) cherry tomatoes
• fish sauce, to season
• small bunch coriander, leaves chopped
• cooked noodles or rice, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

In a deep frying pan, heat the curry paste and coconut cream together over a low heat, stirring. Pour in the milk, stir well, and bring to a simmer.

Add the spring onions and butternut squash and cook for about 10 minutes, until the squash is just tender. Add the rest of the vegetables and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Season with fish sauce to taste, sprinkle over the coriander and serve on noodles or rice, with the lime wedges on the side.

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Tahini Dressed green bean and courgette salad

Prep time

• 10 - 15 mins

Cook Time

• 5 mins

Servings

• 4

Ingredients

• FOR THE TAHINI (optional)
• 1⁄2 garlic clove, crushed with a little coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons light tahini (stir the jar well first)
• Finely grated zest and juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• Juice of 1⁄2 orange
• 1⁄2 teaspoon clear honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
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• FOR THE SALAD
•  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 medium courgettes (about 400g), sliced into 3mm rounds
• Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• About 125g French beans, trimmed
• 4 good handfuls of salad leaves
• 12-18 oven-dried tomatoes (see page 304) or semi-dried tomatoes (optional)
• A handful of mint, finely shredded (optional)
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Directions

To make the tahini dressing, put the crushed garlic into a small bowl with the tahini, lemon zest and juice, orange juice, honey and a grind of black pepper, and stir together well. The dressing may thicken and go grainy or pastey, but don’t worry. Just thin it down by whisking in a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you get a creamy, trickling consistency. Finally, gently stir in the olive oil. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if needed. The dressing is now ready to use.

For the salad, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a fairly high heat and cook the courgette slices in batches, tossing them occasionally, for a few minutes until tender and browned on both sides, transferring them to a bowl once cooked.

When the courgettes are all cooked, season generously with salt and pepper, add the lemon juice and chilli and toss together well.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the French beans, return to the boil and blanch for 1 minute. Drain, then dunk in cold water to refresh. Drain again, pat dry with a clean tea towel and toss the beans with the courgettes.

To assemble the salad, spread the salad leaves in a large shallow serving bowl and scatter over the dressed courgettes and beans, tomatoes and shredded mint, if using. Trickle the tahini dressing generously over the whole lot and serve.

Nettle pesto

This is a rural Devon, River Cottage version of the classic Italian sauce. We substitute nettles, rapeseed oil, Cheddar and breadcrumbs for basil, olive oil, Parmesan and pine nuts. Use it wherever you would use pesto – it is excellent swirled on top of creamy soups, or tossed through pasta.

Prep time

• 20 mins

Cook Time

• 10 mins

Servings

• 450g

Ingredients

• 20g breadcrumbs
• 100g young nettles (or the top few leaves of older ones)
• 20g strong Cheddar, grated
• ½ garlic clove, crushed to a paste with a little salt
• 150–200ml rapeseed oil
• Salt and black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Scatter the breadcrumbs on a baking tray and bake for about 10 minutes until dry and golden, checkingthem frequently towards the end as they burn quite quickly.Tip on to a plate and allow to cool.

Wearing gloves, pick over the nettles, discarding all but the thinnest stalks, then wash well. Fill a bowl with iced water. Find a pan large enough to take the nettles and half-fill it with water.

Bring to the boil and cram in the nettles, pushing them down with a wooden spoon to immerse them. Cook for just 1 minute, then drain
through a sieve over a bowl to save the cooking water. Immediately plunge the nettles into the iced water. As soon as they are cold, remove and squeeze them as dry as you can – they will not sting you once they are cooked.

Put the nettles into a food processor along with the breadcrumbs, cheese and garlic. With the machine on low speed, trickle in enough rapeseed oil to make a loose paste. (Alternatively, you can grind the nettles, breadcrumbs, garlic and cheese to a paste using a pestle and mortar, then slowly incorporate the oil.)

Season your pesto with salt and pepper to taste. It is now ready to use. As for the nettle cooking water you saved, drink it – it’s too good to waste.